Shibata Will Bounce Back on 3/1 Against Nakagawa

In a battle for the OPBF/Japanese middleweight titles, Akio Shibata (21-8-1, 9KOs) will battle Daisuke Nakagawa (22-3-2, 17KOs) in a rematch on March 1 at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. The fist time they met, Shibata won a close ten round unanimous decision. Nakagawa has won three straight since the loss. Shibata will attempt to bounce back from an August two-round TKO defeat to 2012 Olympic gold medal winner Ryota Murata, who was making his pro debut at the Ariake Coliseum.